All posts filed under: food

I currently reside in a shoebox apartment in the urban area of Austin, Texas. Though my space is a small one, I do try to keep a sensible garden. I’m not an expert gardener but slowly I have noticed my pale thumb turning increasingly green… leaving me thirstier for a bigger area to try my hand at seed and soil. “The word vegetable comes from the root that means the very opposite of immobile, passive, dull, or uneventful. Vegere means to animate, enliven, invigorate, arouse. Vegete means to grow, to be refreshing, to vivify, animate. From these roots come words such as vigil, vigilant, and vigor, with all their connotations of being wide-awake, alert, of keeping watch. ‘The understanding…was vagete, quick, and lively,” observed one critic in 1662. Ben Jonson described what he saw as desirable characteristics in woman, ‘faire, young, and vegetous.’ Such respect for the vegetable soul was not confined merely to a robust sensual life, but extended into the religious dimension. ‘Man is righteous in his Vegetated Spectre,’ proclaimed Blake when commenting …

These Polish-style, slightly salted cucumbers are a bit different to regular pickled cucumbers, the vinegar based ones you find in stores or make at home. They don’t use vinegar at all and contain less salt in the brine therefore they ferment faster and have to be eaten within weeks. These are also the ones that are used for cucumbers soups (zupa orgorkowa) These pickles do no require vinegar as the preservative method, but instead, use a salted water solution (brine) allowing for a natural fermentation process. I’ve talked to several Polish women, my mother-in-aw included, who claim these are much healthier than vinegar based pickled cucumbers (though I’m not a nutritionist, so I can make no such claims.) These salted cucumbers are a traditional Polish dish but other countries have similar marinated cucumbers recipes: Danish syltede agurker, Estonian soolakurgid or German salz-dill Gurken just to mention few. INGREDIENTS – Garden cucumbers / pickling cucumbers – About 4 liters of boiled water – One TB Kosher salt (per jar you want to fill) I usually do …

Most pumpkin recipes I’ve come across feature the sweet, rather than the savory side of pumpkin… but this fall favorite can be as diverse as it is delicious! Here’s a recipe for a savory pumpkin soup with just the right amount of spice. P.S. This is entirely vegan Savory Pumpkin Soup 3 Serrano chilies (this can vary depending on your spice preference) 4 cloves garlic 1 tsp grated ginger 1 large onion, chopped 1 c olive oil .75 l of vegetable stock 1.5 tbsp tamarind paste 2 tbsp coconut milk 0.5 Kilograms of pie/ sugar pumpkin (the ones used for baking not for carving) 0.5 Kilograms delicata squash 2.5 tsps coriander seeds 2 tsp cumin seeds 1/4 tsp nigella seeds 1/4 tsp mustard powder Preheat the oven to 450°F. Dice onion and 2 cloves garlic. Saute in a pan until translucent. Put this off to the side. Place the coriander, cumin and nigella seeds in a dry frying pan and brown over medium heat until they golden & smell nice and toasty. Grind in a mortar and pestle with mustard powder. …

Recent Ramblings

I point my ears to the farthest tree and listen to the needles sway and sing, like a nursery song remembered from childhood. I’m thinking about mending, about restoring, about the remedy of words. Dusk settles and my thoughts inch toward alone-ness. When I sit on the suburban steps staring out at the particulates and angels hidden in the ashes of cigarettes, I think...

I currently reside in a shoebox apartment in the urban area of Austin, Texas. Though my space is a small one, I do try to keep a sensible garden. I’m not an expert gardener but slowly I have noticed my pale thumb turning increasingly green… leaving me thirstier for a bigger area to try my hand at seed and soil. “The word vegetable comes...

“… Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.” ― Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic I am working on a sort of directory of different herbs, their medicinal and magical properties as well as the folklore associated with them....

How to Be a Poet (to remind myself) BY WENDELL BERRY Make a place to sit down. Sit down. Be quiet. You must depend upon affection, reading, knowledge, skill—more of each than you have—inspiration, work, growing older, patience, for patience joins time to eternity… Breathe with unconditional breath the unconditioned air. Shun electric wire. Communicate slowly. Live a three-dimensioned life; stay away from screens....

A lovely, light, spring or summer soup. *Note: It is important to use brined cucumbers (sour cucumbers) as opposed to the sweet, vinegar based ones you find in the grocery store. You can easily make your own using this recipe. Ingredients 20 g (3/4 oz) Butter 300 g (10 1/2 oz) Polski Ogorkie (those brined dill cucumbers) thinly sliced, or grated (reserve the pickle juice to...

These Polish-style, slightly salted cucumbers are a bit different to regular pickled cucumbers, the vinegar based ones you find in stores or make at home. They don’t use vinegar at all and contain less salt in the brine therefore they ferment faster and have to be eaten within weeks. These are also the ones that are used for cucumbers soups (zupa orgorkowa) These pickles...

Baba Ghanoush is a savory eggplant dip that is as simple to make as it is delicious to eat. If you’re a fan of hummus I urge you to give this dish a try! Ingredients 1 large eggplant (I make large portions of this dip to eat throughout the week, feel free to double or triple the recipe if you so wish!) 3 gloves...

I’ve been absent from writing for quite a while now and each one of my posts seems to read more like an accuse or apology…. though I’m not sure exactly to whom, maybe myself, maybe you. I’ve finally finished with my undergraduate degree, I never actually thought it would take me this long. When I was younger life to me was just linear and...